


Death is Only the Beginning

by TaleasOldasTimeandSpace



Series: Fairy Tales and Hokum [12]
Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: And Running, Crack, Dorks in Love, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Flynn and Lucy revert to their natural state of Soft Dorks, Mummy AU, and yelling, garcy, in Oprah voice: YOU get your comeuppance and YOU get your comeuppance, now that the pesky little matter of the End of the World is over, seriously there's an outrageous amount of running involved, so much slicing and dicing of mummies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:09:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25175137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaleasOldasTimeandSpace/pseuds/TaleasOldasTimeandSpace
Summary: In which our heroes save the world
Relationships: Garcia Flynn & Jiya, Garcia Flynn/Lucy Preston, Jessica Logan/Wyatt Logan, Rufus Carlin/Jiya
Series: Fairy Tales and Hokum [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1040840
Comments: 10
Kudos: 33





	Death is Only the Beginning

Several things happened at once.

A shot rang out, driving Wy’att back from the table before he could plunge the knife into Lucy’s chest. She squeezed her eyes shut in relief, but snapped them open again when Jiya shouted, ‘Lucy! We’ve got the book! Are you all right? You better not be dead, I swear I will kill you myself if you let yourself get murdered.’

Lucy inhaled a sobbing laugh and opened her mouth to answer—

—only to exhale with a wheeze as Jeska used her as a springboard to launch herself across the table and tackle Wy’att to the ground.

Well.

That was unexpected.

The pair of them tumbled out of Lucy’s sightline, and she turned her attention to the manacles. She had no idea why Jeska seemed to be helping, and she had no intention of waiting around to find out. Of course, that was easier said than done. Tugging resulted in chafed wrists, but no freedom. Claustrophobia was starting to claw at the back of her throat. Considering all she’d been through the last few days, it was a small miracle it hadn’t been an issue earlier, but she was in no mood to appreciate that fact. She let out a frustrated whine, which turned into a screech when a large hand covered her own.

‘Easy, _draga_. I’ve got you.’

The instant she heard his voice, the tension drained from her body, to be replaced with the sting of tears. Which really wasn’t any more convenient than the claustrophobia, but her body didn’t seem to care. His face appeared, upside down as he hovered over her, and not even her split lip could stop her smile. ‘Garcia,’ she rasped. ‘It’s really good to see you.’

‘You too.’ He cupped her cheek, using his thumb to wipe her tears. ‘Sorry we’re late, we got, ah, held up. Repeatedly,’ he added with a crooked smile.

‘You’re here now, that’s what matters.’

His grin dropped. ‘I should have been here sooner,’ he said, his fingers tracing her bruises with aching gentleness.

Darn it, the man really needed to stop making her cry. This was _not_ the time. ‘I’ll be fine. But I could really use a hand,’ she added, rattling the manacles.

The tips of his ears flushed an adorable pink, and he immediately turned his attention to the locks. ‘Right. Sorry.’

The catches unlatched with a satisfying _click_ , and she immediately sat up. Or tried to, anyway. A fresh set of aches began clamoring for her attention, and she had to brace her palms against the table to keep from falling over the side and dangling upside-down by her still-manacled feet. Garcia quickly came around to her side, bracing one hand behind her back and using the other to release her ankles. Free at last, all she could do was sag against his reassuringly broad chest. He obligingly wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned into his embrace with a sigh. Saving the world could wait five minutes, couldn't it?

‘I know you deserve a nice spot of cuddling and all,’ Jiya's voice cut through her blissful haze and ruthlessly pulled her back to reality, ‘but there's still the tiny matter of mummies and the end of the world.’

‘Right, you're right.’ She straightened up and frowned, glancing around the chamber. ‘First of all we're going to need the key. I think Wy'att had it last.’

Garcia wet his lips. ‘And, ah, how do you suggest we get it away from him?’

In answer, the key came sailing through the air, narrowly missing Garcia's head before coming to rest beside Lucy on the table. She blinked at it, before following the trajectory back to where Jeska was doing a surprisingly effective job of pinning Wy'att to the ground. She suspected the stunned expression on Garcia's face mirrored her own. ‘Is she on our side?’ he asked.

‘I think so, yes.’

‘Huh.’

‘Yep.’ She reached for the key, but a withered hand snatched it before she could. ‘Oh, come on!’ she snarled, lunging after the mummy. Garcia's startled yelp made her look back over her shoulder, just in time to see several mummies wrestle him to the ground. ‘Garcia!’

‘I'm fine!’ His hand popped out of the writhing mass of bandages, clutching a short sword she was almost positive hadn't been there before. ‘Just get the key!’ he added as he started hacking at mummy limbs.

Lucy took a deep breath, shoved all her aches and pains into a box to deal with later, and charged after the escaping mummy. She spotted a second discarded sword on the ground and paused to scoop it up. While they probably wouldn't be able to actually kill any of the mummies until they took out Wy'att, she was willing to bet that if she cut off enough limbs it would stop him just as effectively.

The mummy swerved around a large pool in the centre of the chamber, and she very nearly tripped and fell in before catching her balance. She shuddered, glancing at it over her shoulder. The liquid was dark and thick and seemed to be moving of its own accord. The last thing she wanted was to take a dip in those oily waters. Knowing Hamunaptra, it would probably strip the flesh from her bones.

She could hear Jiya yelling something in ancient Egyptian as she tackled her quarry, but she was too busy trying to wrestle the key away to translate. For a creature made of brittle bones and parchment skin, her mummy was surprisingly strong. She finally resorted to hacking off the hand clutching the key entirely. Peeling off the fingers with a triumphant grin, she held it up, ready to call for Garcia and Jiya and finally put an end to this nightmare. But her shout was drowned out by a roar that echoed through the chamber.

‘What _now?’_ she groaned, tightening her grip on her sword and the key as she scrambled to her feet. In her ever-increasing experience, sounds like that never bode well.

When four new mummies, dressed in the uniforms of royal guards and brandishing swords like oversized sickles, burst from an alcove and stood at attention, she wasn't even surprised.

Really, it was just. Typical.

Wy'att barked out an order, and three of the guards immediately turned to converge on Garcia, who'd just fought free of the last of the priests. ‘Oh, come _on,’_ he groaned as he caught sight of them.

Her sentiments exactly. ‘Jiya!’ she yelled, backing away as the fourth guard started towards her.

‘This is _not_ my fault!’

‘It will be if you don't stop them!’ Lucy caught the guard's blade with her own. The impact jarred all the way down her arm. There was no way she could keep this up for long.

‘How do you suggest I do that?’ Jiya demanded tartly.

Lucy blocked another strike, sparks jumping off the blades as they scraped together. ‘You started reading the book, right?’ She disengaged and ducked underneath the guard's sword. ‘You woke them up. If you finish the inscription, you'll be able to control them!’

‘Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense.’

‘Jiya, _now!’_

_‘Okay!'_

The guard closed in on her, and she turned and ran.

* * *

Garcia really wanted a gun. He could almost go for a stick of dynamite, but no matter what Lucy thought, he wasn't crazy enough to risk bringing the whole city down on top of them just to take down three mummies. Besides, he was fresh out of dynamite.

A shame, really. Properly applied dynamite was more effective than an army.

He'd used his last bullet to stop Wy'att from killing Lucy, a more than worthy cause. But now he was fending off three supernaturally-powered warriors with just a short sword he'd taken off one of the priests. He was good, but he wasn't _that_ good.

He just hoped Lucy had gotten away from the one Wy'att had sent after her.

One of the guards took a swipe at his head, a sharp reminder that he couldn't afford to get distracted worrying about Lucy right now. He'd just have to trust that she was taking care of herself. Knowing Lucy, she was probably doing just fine.

Jiya was yelling in ancient Egyptian again. If she was summoning another batch of undead warriors, they'd be having _words_ when this was all over, he decided, aiming a stroke at the nearest guard's leg. Why did the pair of them insist on reading cursed books all willy-nilly? You'd think they'd have learned after Wy'att, but obviously not. (A voice that sounded suspiciously like Rufus pointed out that he'd encouraged Lucy the first time around, but he silenced it ruthlessly. He was fighting mummies, he didn't have time to argue with the voices in his head.)

A lucky swing opened a slice on his arm, pulling his attention away from the fight just long enough for one guard to wrench his sword away. The third kicked him in the gut, sending him flying backward until he hit a wall. Stars burst across his vision as his head cracked against stone. It was Lucy's voice in his head now, screaming at him to get up, get up, get _up,_ but all he could do was lie there and wheeze as the guards closed in on him. All three swords descended on him, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he braced for the blows.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Still waiting.

He cautiously opened one eye, then the other. The guards were frozen, just shy of hacking him into tiny little pieces. The tip of one sword was less than a hairbreadth away from his nose.

Garcia concentrated on holding very, very still.

Jiya shouted something that sounded like an order. He definitely heard Wy'att's name in all the words he didn't understand. As one, the guards straightened, turned with military precision, and marched off. When he was sure they weren't coming back, he allowed himself to sag against the wall. His eyes drifted shut, and he wondered vaguely if he could get away with taking a nap. The girls seemed to have the whole saving the world thing under control.

‘Garcia!’

‘Flynn!'

_‘Garcia!_ Are you okay?’

Gentle fingers ghosted over his brow, encouraging him to open his eyes. Lucy's face, pale, bruised, and lovely, swam into focus. He met her worried gaze and smiled. ‘Hey. Did we win?’

She laughed, slightly watery. ‘Not yet, but we're working on it.’ Her fingers absently combed through his hair. ‘You know, if you keep getting yourself thrown into things, even your hard head is going to have trouble staying in one piece.’

He shrugged, wincing when the motion pulled injuries he hadn't even been aware he had. ‘I had it under control.’

Jiya snorted. ‘Sure you did. Lucy, I hate to interrupt here, but those guards aren't going to keep Wy'att busy forever.’

‘Right, you're right.’ Lucy straightened, and he couldn't quite suppress a whine when she pulled her hand from his hair.

Jiya smirked, and he scowled. He was _injured._ She should be _nice_ to him.

Lucy didn't notice, too busy opening the key and unlocking the book Jiya held out for her. He was impressed Jiya had managed to hold onto it through everything. Then again, the sisters were nothing if not determined.

‘This'll work, right?’ he asked as Lucy flipped open the book.

She shot him a grin. ‘Course it'll work,’ she said, and started to read.

Garcia wasn't sure if Wy'att knew what was happening or not, but Lucy had barely finished the first sentence before he let out a roar and shoved the guards away from him with a wave of power. He stalked towards them across the chamber. Jeska hopped on his back like a monkey, but he didn't even flinch, let alone slow down. He just reached back and almost casually peeled her off and tossed her to one side. He didn't even look back.

Jiya raised a brow at Garcia. ‘Keep him busy!’ she ordered, jerking her head at Wy'att.

‘Oh, sure,’ he grunted, levering himself to his feet. ‘Keep him busy. Not a problem.’

Lucy didn't pause in her reading, but she did reach out and catch his hand before he could move away. He wet his lips and smiled, leaning down to press a kiss to the crown of her head. ‘We got this,’ he whispered into her hair. He squeezed her fingers one more time and let go.

As he moved toward Wy'att he scooped up two new swords—with a passing sigh for his empty guns—and rolled his shoulders. It didn't do anything for his bruises, and he was pretty sure he'd cracked a rib when the guards threw him into the wall. But hey, it was just for a little longer, right?

He could feel power building in the chamber, electricity like the beginning of a storm sparking in the air and raising the hairs on the back of his neck. Wy'att didn't pick up speed or slow down, just kept coming toward him, steady and murderous. Well, Garcia was feeling a little murderous, too. He met Wy'att's eyes and grinned, sharp and predatory. ‘Let's dance.’

Rather than charging to meet Wy'att and probably get thrown into another wall for his trouble, Garcia moved far enough away from the girls that they wouldn't get caught in the immediate battle and planted himself firmly in the mummy's path. If Wy'att wanted to get to Lucy, he'd have to go through Garcia first. Which was, no doubt, exactly what he had in mind, but that didn't mean Garcia had to make it easy for him.

As he raised his swords, there was a crack and a flash. A jagged finger of lightning stabbed down, enveloping Wy'att in a corona of blinding light. Garcia shielded his eyes, but he couldn't block out the sound of Wy'att's screams.

Just when he thought the entire city would explode, the light vanished. The contrast was so great he thought at first he'd gone blind. But when he slowly blinked his eyes open, the chamber was still lit with flicking golden torchlight. Wy'att lay in a crumpled heap where he'd been standing when the lightning struck. Garcia released a long breath. Finally, it was ov—

Wy'att twitched.

‘GAH!’ Garcia stumbled back, raising his swords. ‘I thought you said this was going to kill him!’

‘Well, the research wasn't exactly clear…’

_‘Lucy!’_ Wy'att was getting to his feet now. The book was their last hope, and it had failed. Garcia was fresh out of ideas.

‘I don't _know,_ Garcia! It should have worked!’

‘That makes me feel so much better, thanks!’ He hefted the swords. Maybe cutting off Wy'att's head would do the trick?

It took him far too long to realize Wy'att wasn't actually attacking—in his defense, it'd been a long day. Week. Month, even. Wy'att just stood there, looking lost. Lost, and somehow more human than Garcia had ever seen him. Garcia lowered his guard slightly, though he wasn't about to drop the swords entirely.

Ignoring Garcia completely, Wy'att turned to Jeska, who lay sprawled against the wall where he'd thrown her. He pressed a kiss to her bandaged head, whispering something Garcia couldn't hear before gathering her up in his arms. When he was standing again, he met Garcia's eyes, then looked past him to where Jiya and Lucy knelt with the book. ‘I'm sorry,’ he said, clear and unaccented. ‘Thank you.’ Then he turned and walked them both into the tarry pool until they were gone.

‘What just happened?’ Garcia asked. His voice sounded far away to his own ears.

‘I… I _think_ we just broke his curse.’ Lucy's voice was just as faint. Somehow that made him feel better.

‘So he could speak English this whole time and didn't?’ Jiya demanded. ‘For _effect?’_ Her indignant rage cut straight through the fog in Garcia's head.

That was when he knew it was really over. He turned with a grin. ‘Lucy, you did it!’

_‘We_ did it,’ she corrected, but she was grinning too. ‘We won!’

He rushed over and pulled her to her feet with a vague idea of kissing her senseless. It seemed appropriate. But that was when the entire room lurched sideways. Dirt pelted them from overhead, causing him to glare at the ceiling. The ceiling which, with a disgruntled rumble of ancient gears, was slowly lowering towards them. That's what he got for making _plans_.

_‘Really?’_ Lucy spat.

_Exactly_. He let go of one of Lucy's hands to push Jiya ahead of them. ‘Time to run again!’

His cracked rib was not happy that he was racing through rapidly-shrinking tunnels in an effort to reach the surface. Since he didn't want to be squashed into a greasy smear, he ignored it.

They charged through the treasure room without sparing a glance for the wealth scattered around them. He could hear the skittering of scarabs moving through the gold, giving them added incentive to move. If they didn't get crushed by tons of rock, they'd be eaten alive. Either way, they'd be dead if they didn't get out soon.

They reached the far door and he shoved Jiya through. Before he could follow, Lucy's hand was ripped from his. He whirled, reaching automatically for his empty Colt.

Emma stood behind Lucy, a gun pressed to the historian's head and a wild look in her eye. ‘Aw, Flynn, you weren't gonna leave without me, were you?’

He took a step toward them—to do _what_ , he didn't know, his guns were empty, but _Lucy,_ she had a gun on her, he couldn't let her—

Lucy grabbed Emma's gun hand and twisted, using her momentum to spin and punch Emma in the jaw. The force of the blow sent her staggering back into the wave of scarabs.

Garcia regretted many things in his life, but teaching Lucy to punch was not one of them.

‘That's for being a horrible little psycho!’ she yelled over Emma's screams. Turning back to Garcia, she grabbed his hand with a fierce grin. ‘Let's get out of here.’

He loved her so much.

They didn't stop running until they reached the small herd of camels loitering at the edge of the desert, the collapsing city threatening to swallow them whole until the very last. Garcia braced his hands on his knees, ignoring the sharp pain from his rib stabbing him petulantly every time he took a breath. It didn't matter, not really. He could heal. They had time. They'd saved the world.

‘You really do sow chaos and destruction wherever you go, don't you?’

He raised his head to peer blearily at the speaker. Connor lounged on a blanket in the shade of a dune, sipping from his ever-present flask as he doodled in the sand. He looked perfectly relaxed and not at all like he'd survived a plane crash and the narrowly-averted end of the world. ‘Conner,’ he grunted. ‘You're looking chipper.’

‘No thanks to you lot. Still,’ he added philosophically as he got to his feet, ‘I suppose your mission was a success, since you're alive and the world hasn't ended. Is this your lady friend?’ He took Lucy's hand with a charming grin. ‘Connor Mason, my dear. I've heard very little about you, but it's lovely to meet you all the same.’

‘Uh, thanks?’ Lucy looked slightly dazed, and Garcia couldn't blame her. He suspected Connor often had that effect on people. ‘I'm sorry, but what are you doing here? Exactly?’

‘I flew the plane that this one crashed into the desert,’ he said, jerking a thumb at Garcia.

‘Okay, look, I'm sorry about Bessie,’ Garcia said, tugging Lucy away from Connor and tucking her under his arm. To his delight, she snuggled into his side rather than pulling away. ‘But you can build another one, right?’

‘Meh.’ He waved a dismissive hand. ‘I'm done with planes. Dirigibles—now that's the transportation of the future!'

‘And you're probably never going to fly one yourself, are you?’

They turned at the new voice, and Jiya's face lit with a blinding smile. _‘Rufus!’_ She launched herself into the chieftain's arms.

‘I told you I wasn't going to die to— _mph!'_ The rest of Rufus' sentence was cut off when Jiya yanked his head down and kissed him full on the mouth.

‘When did _that_ happen?’ Lucy's voice was slightly scandalized and tinged with the protective outrage of an older sister.

Garcia shrugged, enjoying the sensation of Lucy in his arms and not having the fate of the world hanging over their heads. ‘About halfway through fighting our way through a hoard of mummies to rescue you.’

‘I'm not sure if I should be proud or insulted.’

He just laughed, pressing a kiss to her temple.

She leaned into him with a happy sigh. ‘So, Mr. Flynn,’ she said, wrapping her arms around his waist, ‘Now that the world is no longer ending, do you have any plans?’

He pretended to think about it. ‘Well Dr. Preston, I intend to go back to Cairo, sleep for about a month. Reload all my guns. Don't really have any plans beyond that. There is something I want to do first, though.’

‘What's that?’

‘This.’ He cupped her cheek with one hand and pressed his lips to hers. She responded immediately, fisting a hand in his shirt to pull him closer.

He'd never forgotten that first kiss back when he thought he was going to die in prison. That kiss had been filled with desperation and curiosity. This kiss, though… This was so much better. Relief, hope, trust, and so much love. This kiss was like coming home.

They broke apart, and he was pleased to see that it took a couple of seconds for her eyes to flutter open after he pulled away. She met his eyes and smiled, and he couldn't help but smile back.

‘Look, if you lot are going to stand around being mushy and rubbing it in that I don't have anyone to kiss besides a camel, I'm just going to leave.’ Garcia dragged his gaze away from Lucy to raise an eyebrow at Connor, who had his arms crossed as he glared at them. ‘I didn't sign up for any of this, if you'll recall.’

‘I'm sorry you feel left out,’ Garcia said solemnly.

Lucy leaned into his chest, muffling a laugh in his shirt.

He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. ‘Really.’ He tried to control the grin tugging at his lips and failed miserably. ‘My heart bleeds for you.’

‘I hate you all.’ Connor stalked over to a camel and scrambled into the saddle.

It wasn't until he turned his mount to the desert that Rufus and Jiya finally came up for air. ‘Hey, where's Connor going?’ Rufus asked.

Garcia burst out laughing, but it quickly turned into a hiss as his rib stabbed him again.

‘Garcia?’ Lucy's voice was full of concern.

He shook his head, running a soothing hand up and down her arm. ‘Cracked rib, hurts to laugh. I'll be fine.’

She was in no mood to be soothed. ‘Why didn't you say something? We need to get that wrapped right away! How did you expect to get to Cairo like this?’ Her tirade continued as she bullied him into taking his shirt off and finding something to wrap his rib, muttering under her breath about thick-headed idiots with no sense of self-preservation. All the while he couldn't keep the smile off his face. It wasn't until she'd secured the makeshift bandage around his torso that she met his eyes with a glare. ‘What?’

He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. ‘I love you, _draga.’_

_‘Oh.’_ Her glare melted instantly, replaced with a blush and a shy smile. ‘Well. That's fortunate.’ Her eyes dropped to his chest for a moment, and she smoothed a wrinkle in the bandage. Looking up again, her eyes shining with delight, she continued, ‘Because I love you too, Garcia.’ He scooped her up with a laugh, ignoring the pain even as she swatted his shoulder with a ‘Garcia, your _rib!’_

‘It'll heal.’ He kissed her again, just because he could. ‘I love you.’

‘Sap,’ she said, but her voice was fond. She brushed his nose with her own. ‘Love you too. Let's go home.’

**Author's Note:**

> AND THEY LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER
> 
> Flynn and Lucy cuddle all the way back to Cairo, as do Rufus and Jiya. Connor sulks.
> 
> I went through several different ways of ending this, from Jessica getting killed in the skirmish to sacrificing herself to save Flynn or Lucy or Jiya to having her kill Wyatt herself. But since City of the Living I've operated under the idea that Wyatt was under an Actual Curse (because let's face it, aside from getting mummified alive, the Hom Dai seemed to work completely in Imhotep's favour), and this just felt right. It's probably the farthest away from the Mummy's plot that I've gone in this series.
> 
> I can't believe it's over! This is the first major, multi-part work I've finished in years, and I feel so accomplished. I don't know if I'll ever get to Mummy Returns, but I do have some ideas of how I'd want it to work. We'll see. Thank you all for coming along on this ride with me. I hope you had fun - I know I did :)
> 
> Namarie!


End file.
